Health and Physical Activity of 4-5 Years Old Children - Assignment Example

Running heading: Health and physical activity project for 4-5yr old children Health and physical activity project for 4-5yr old children Name Course Tutor Task Date Physical inactivity is a common problem for adults all over the world. This problem is more so for the low-income earners in the people who live from hand to mouth as compared to the middle and high-income earners. Installing the need for physical education in children while they are still of a tender age is extremely necessary so as to cultivate a culture of exercising in them. This culture will be of immense value even when they grow older. In this day and age of tremendous technological development, children have ample access to uncountable leisure items. Most of the children spend uncountable hours of the day seated in front of their television sets. Children also spent countless hours using the computer for fun together. Excessive use of these forms of entertainment is a potent vice to the children at that time and even in the future. These hobbies are of enormous importance in the growth and development of these children, but this can only be so if used in a controlled manner. Emotional and rational well being of a kid is affected unfavorably if the boy is obsessed excessively to watching television, computer or playing video games. Physical education should be taught and practiced in school as it is of utmost importance for the development of the young children. Parents should also try to do the same at home. Early curtailing of such behavior is necessary for the child’s development and even to prevent idleness in the child. Once this behavior is instilled in the child then it grows up knowing physical exercise as the way to go all through life. Health workers all over the country are worried and rightfully so about the growing levels of obesity of young children aged between three and five years old. Statistics show that the children of today are much heavier than ever before (Hardman & Stensel, 2009). Obese and obese children are much more likely to develop into unhealthy, obese adults as compared to their leaner counterparts. Childhood obesity poses formidable problems for children now and even later in life when they grow up into adults. Advantages of physical exercise for children aged between four and five years can be dived into both long term and short-term benefits. Short-term benefits Physical exercise and participation in sports for children can help them to make new friends especially during leisure time. This will assist in developing the child’s social skills. Children often develop their closest relationships with other kids during play. Physical education and exercise is also a fun activity for the kids to take part. This may seem to an extremely trivial benefit, but children of this age require having a lot of fun before they grow up The advantages of physical activity in kids go above and beyond physiological and public health concerns. Kids who exercise habitually have higher levels of self-worth. Physical activity practices can have immediate health benefits for kids in that it helps normalize body weight. Physical activity also promotes positive mental fitness. Both of these direct outcomes may be valuable in inspiring physical activity practices so that they have substantial benefits. An extra one of the major benefits of physical activity that it consistently makes children feel terrific about themselves. “A sense of profound bodily rest normally follows energetic activity, and bodily rest is more often than not accompanied by mental rest as well.” (Pica, 2008). Physically active children get better grades as compared to their sedentary counterparts. This is physical exercise and sports help to reduce the amount of stress in children no matter how trivial it may be. Physical exercise also tires out the child and gets them to sleep better. Sleep is a tremendously significant factor for the youngsters as children develop during their sleep. There are a sizeable number of mechanisms through which regular physical activity in children could help improve their overall concentration in class and elsewhere. This as a fact helps to increase the overall performance of the youngster. Long-term benefits Very little is identified in relation to the linking between bodily action and adult fitness, but there is escalating proof to imply that persons who develop a system which incorporates habitual physical action throughout their early days will ensure health benefits in grown-up life if habitual activity is sustained. It is vital that physical activity is promoted at an early age within the home and in school. Numerous studies have discovered that physical activity can benefit children throughout their lives. Activity levels decline conspicuously over the teenage, and that the decay continues all the way through to adulthood. This shows that sports and physical activity have outstandingly little carry over value. It therefore, needs to be instilled at a young age so that it may become accustomed and a way of life. In kids, the benefits of habitual physical activity include reduced blood lipids and lower blood pressure and, in the long term, diminish the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes (Shils & Shike, 2006). A countrywide survey carried out reported a rather small level of activity in children. An activity of matchless intensity is necessary to boost cardiovascular health. As a result, it is required to have in place activities, in school program that fit into place school children into higher levels of physical activity. Studies have found that enrollment in physical education drop by over 90% as the children progress from kids to adolescents (Pica, 2008). Another crucial value of physical activity is stimulation of the mind. This shows that incorporating physical vigor into your way of life gets the brain functioning better by improving circulation. Conclusion Taking part in physical activity has numerous benefits for young children. These activities may assist them physically, psychologically, emotionally and in a social context (Landy & Burridge, 2009). Physical activities and sports if performed properly can help children lead healthy vibrant lifestyles. Part two The following is an obstacle programme to develop the fundamental movement skills for children. It also helps to access the already acquired movement skills by the child. Three different essential skills have been used to create this obstacle course. 1. Body movement 2. Locomotion 3. Object control Obstacle course diagram FINISH Stage3 stage 2 START 0 HERE: During the obstacle course, a lot of care should be taken so as to minimize injuries. Children between the age of four and five are highly predisposed to falls as their ability to balance is not yet well developed (Marotz, 2009). Body movement Failure to establish and refine the necessary, fundamental movement skills at a tender age can lead to failure during adolescence and adulthood. Failure to thrive well formed patterns of throwing, catching and jumping, may make it extremely difficult for a child to participate and enjoy outdoor games like hockey or even basketball. This is not to say that these skills cannot be developed when one is older but vital that these body movement skills are learned when one is still young. Overview of obstacle course Planning an obstacle course is a fantastic way to exercise and learn child physical activity. The Children will be able to have a lot of fun while developing vital movement skills. An obstacle course can be put up with objects you may already have at home. More often than not, an obstacle course is set up in the open air. This does not mean that it cannot be set up indoors when there is lousy weather. To set up an obstacle course to develop movement skills one should consider thinking of activities such as hop, jump, climb over, crawl under, walk along, go right or go left. The target physical activities in our obstacle are such as locomotion, body awareness and object control. The obstacle course is planned out according to how to develop these skills. the course involves three activities; Hop from side to side through hula hoops placed on the ground; Carry an object on a spoon (a small potato is ideal for this activity); dribble or Bounce ball to next station (at least 6 times). The obstacle course is adjusted to fit the children of ages between four and five. Since the obstacle course is created for young children, it is arranged so as to involve exceedingly easy activities, which children of this age are able to do and are supposed to learn how to do. As many children as possible can be involved in this activity. However, only three to four children can use the obstacle course at a time. This is so as to avoid crowding on the course and also to allow for maximum supervision of the children. Adult supervision is of vital importance so as to be able to identify any weak points the children may have. This will allow for more stress and practice to be put on the weak areas. This obstacle aims at developing only three fundamental movement skills body management skills, locomotors skills and object control skills. In body management skills, the ability to balance while in motion is developed and practiced. This is done during the first stage of the obstacle course which involves the child moving while holding on to a potato placed on a spoon. In locomotors skills, the skill to hop is practiced. This is the next stage of the obstacle course where the child jumps over the hula hoops which have been placed on the ground. In the final stage of the obstacle course, object control skill is developed. Here, the child is made to dribble a ball until the finishing line. The children are organized in groups of three to use the obstacle course at a go. This will allow for maximum supervision by the adults. The course will be well demarcated using poles and string so as to prevent children from straying away from the course. This will create efficiency in the activity. There will be a lot of adult supervision. These adults will also offer first aid in case of an injury. The items needed to conduct the obstacle course include: • rope and poles – this will be used to demarcate the area that will for the activity • Hula hoops – this will be used in the second part of the obstacle course. The hoops have to be in abundance as each lane will contain at least five hoops, which the child will jump through. • Balls – the balls will be used in the third stage of the course. • Potatoes and spoons – the potatoes will be balanced on the spoon on the first stage of the course. The spoons used should be table spoons and the potatoes used should be of medium size. Circuit activity- hopping Circuit diagram Stage 4 stages 1, 2, and 3 F Hopping with hopping with hopping with slight knee knee bend at knee bend at Bend →→→ 45degrees→→ 90degrees→→ ↓ ↓ Hopping through Hula hoops The first three parts of the circuit take place in open ground. This activity assesses and develops the ability of the child to hop forward on one foot at the same time, holding the other foot suspended. The learner is supposed to propel himself propels by bending one of his knees while using the other knee for support. The learner is supposed to rush hard and fast forward and upward while at the same time landing on the same leg. The first stage of the circuit involves the child hopping by slightly bending one knee. Here, the learner will have minimum balance as the students suspended knee is bent less than 45degrees. This part of the circuit is remarkably easy as it is the first stage. Since the child is a beginner, he may not master the skill awful first and may, therefore, have poor balance and may also move his hands awkwardly and excessively. The second stage of the guide now asks the students to try and hop with the suspended knee bent at approximately 90 degrees. Here, the learner exaggerates his arm swing as he is now beginning to understand the skill. His suspended knee should be bent at an angle of 90degrees. The learner is now able to maintain balance and there is slightly awkward swinging of the arms. This is supposed to carry on for about five minutes. The third stage is the "Mature Hopping" stage. Here, the instructor will ask the children to hop with coordinated arm movement. The suspended knee should still be at 90degrees. This should continue until all the children are able to hop in a balanced and well coordinated manner. The last stage of the circuit is where the children now get to jump over hula hoops placed on the ground. The instructor will ask the children to hop through from one hoop to the next while trying to maintain balance. This last section will assess how well the skill of hopping has been learned by the kids. This activity will involve at most ten children. This will allow the supervisor and the adults present to supervise how the children are performing. At least five adults should be involved so that they can help in supervision. The adults may also cheer on the children to keep on trying so that they do not give up hope. Each child should stand alone in their own ample space so as to allow for free hand and leg movement. If the children are cramped into a small space, they may injure each other while moving their legs and arms. To provide an efficient and safe environment, there will be a lot of free space provided. An adult who can perform first aid for minor injuries will also be available. The instructor will stand in front of all the children while the adults stand around so as to monitor the movement of the children. For the circuit, one will only need hula hoops at the last stage. The kids should be allowed to break every so often so that they may rest. This obstacle course should be made to be as fun as possible as kids learn better when they have fun. Children who participated in the course should be awarded so as to give them morale to continue no matter how hard it may seem. References Hardman, A. & Stensel, D. (2009). Physical Activity and Health: The Evidence Explained. Network: Taylor & Francis. Landy, J. & Burridge, K. (2009). Kids with zip: A practical resource for promoting active children ages 3-12. French's Forest, Vic: Pearson. Marotz, L. R. (2009). Health, safety and nutrition for the young child. Sydney: Cengage Learning. Pica, R. (2008). Physical education for young children: movement ABCs for the little ones. Illinois, USA: Human Kinetics Shils, M. & Shike, M. (2006). Modern nutrition in health and disease. Chicago: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Read More